Automatic reversing let-off motion for looms.



No; 660,834. Patented Oct. 30, |900.

C. B. BENNETT.

AUTOMATIC REVERSING LET-OFF MOTION FOR LOOMS.

(Application med Feb. 17, 1900.;

NITED STATES PATENT OrnicE.

CHARLES B. BENNETT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC REVERSING LET-OFF MOTION FOR LOOMS..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 660,834, dated October30, 1900.

Application filed February 17l 1900. Serial No. 5,560. `No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern,.-

1 Be it known that I, CHARLES B. BENNETT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia andState of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Automatic Reversing Let-Off Motions for Looms; and I do declare thefollowing to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specication.

My invention relates to improvements in looms, especially for those usedfor manufacturing plush or double-pile fabrics, and has for its objects,first, a perfect control of the warp, to the end that my mechanismpositively moves the beam and advances the warp for a uniform weave;second, the providing of a means whereby the operator can y unassistedreverse the, motion of the warp-beam and turnl it backward to rewind thebacking warp when necessary to search for an imperfect pick and whiledoing so preserve the tension on the warp ready, without any adjustmentwhatever, to at once commence to weave;

third, the means to enable the operator'to turn the warp-beam eitherforward or backward at will without operating the loom-,

fourth, to provide a governor which secures an advance of the Warpsuited to its tension by controlling the speed of the warp-beam, and,fifth, to provide a means to regulate the amount of yarn let oif tosupply the weave in goods of different numbers of Wefts per inch. I alsosecure by my mechanism an even ten` sion on all warps at all times,without which in pile fabrics goods of even surface cannot be produced,as an uneven let-off will pro'- duce an unparallel distance between thetwo backing webs, which when thel webs are cut apart will produce anuneven pile, and, if the tension is not preserved, when the yweaversearches for an imperfect pick an imperfection will occur, which inplushes is very readily noticed, even if only a very slight error in theweave is produced.

I attain the objects of my invention by the mechanism illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in whichof the lay, 3 the bearing to which thesword is fulcrumed. 4 is the stop-motion slide. 5 is the stop-motionpawl, all of these parts being old and somewhat modified in differentconstructions of looms; but to any of 1 these constructions my mechanismis adapted to be attached and coperate, as their functions are the same,although the construction is varied. A pendulum-lever 6 is attached toframe 1 at 7 and reaching downward has a slot 8. A monkey-tail 9 issecured in sword 2in slot?)a and reaching outward has its outer endcurved to enter slot 8, so that whenever the sword is moved in or outthe lever 6 is swung from its fulcrum 7. Near the lower end of lever 6 arod 10 is attached to it by a pin 11 through slot 8 for free verticalmovement in the slot 8. The rod 10 is carried back, and about midway ofits length it is secured' for free movement about a-pin 13 in asuspensionfulcrum 12, the fulcrum being secured at its upper end toframe 1 for pendulous movement by bolt 14. At the other end of rod 10 itis secured for free movement by a pin 15 in "slotV 16 Ofratchet-lever17, which embraces lies under the back or left-hand end of pawlA 21 tocause it to normally be engaged at its front or right-hand end toratchet-wheel 23, tightly secured on the outer end of shaft 18. Wheel 23is provided with notches 2t(which in practice are about three-sixteenthsof an inch pitch) and into which the pawl'21 enters at its right-handend when weaving and at its lefthand end when the filling breaks and apick must be searched. Shaft v18 is ,secured for revolving inbracket-bearing 25, secured to f vframe 1, and on this shaft, inside ofthe frame and-bearing, is placed bevel-gear 26, engag ing bevel-gear 27on upright shaft 28, running in bearings 29 30, having a collar 31 below29 IOO and a collar 32 above 30. A hand-wheel 33 is secured to shaft 28at its upper end. Above gear 27 on shaft 28 is secured a worm 34,engaging a worm-wheel 35, secured on shaft 36, carried onbracket-bearing 37. A pinion 38 is secured on the inner end of shaft 36,and it engages gear 39 on shaft 40, running in bearings 41, (one beingon each side frame 1 and on this shaft 40 is secured warp-beam 42.Attached to pawl 21 is a cord 43, having a spiral spring 44, the cordpassing over a wheel 45, secured to frame 1, and thence forward where itis attached to stop-motion slide 4. Warp-yarn 46 is wound on beam 42 andis carried upward and over roller`47 on shaft 48, secured in bearings 49at the upper part of framework 1 and thereafterover feeler 50, attachedto roller 47 by rods 51, this construction being old. Attached to shaft48 is rmly secured vibrator 52, which reaches down therefrom and has atits lower end a slot Fulcrumed on frame l directly below vibrator 52 bystud 54 is the governor-lever, consisting of an outer end 55, on whichis placed a balancing-weight 56, secured by set-screw 57, having aninner end 58, which reaches forward and has secured thereto a lifter-rod59, which reaches downward and is attached to rod l0 betweensuspension-fulcrum 12 and ratchet-lever 17 and a part 60 of the governorlever, which reaches directly upward from stud 54 and has a pin 6l,which projects outward therefrom at its upper end and enters slot 53. Byreference to lever extension 58", weight 56a, and set-screw 57a (shownin Fig. 1) will be seen the main governing means of the let-offmechanism. When the loom is stopped and it is desired to move the warpeither forward or back, the pawl 2l is secured for non-engagement ateither end by tightening thumb-screw 2O after the pawl has been placedcentral, and then by revolving handwheel 33 in either direction the beamis moved as desired.

Ratchet-wheel 23 is made of large diameter to enable the placing of alarge number of notches 24 in its periphery and to have them of veryfine pitch to enable the ratchet to respond to the delicate movements ofthe governor and to graduate the movement of the beam to suit anydesired number of picks per inch.

For the regulation of the amount of yarn let oft' for goods of differentpicks per inch I have provided a slot 9a in sword 2, so that monkey-tail9 may be so placed in the slot as to move lever 6 in amount to properlyrotate the ratchet-wheel 23 and the beam t0 supply the desired amount ofwarp-yarn to suitthe number of picks of the weave. Sword 2 vibrates withevery beating in of the weft or filling and through monkey-tail 9operates vibrating lever 6, rod 10, and ratchetlever 17, which while theloom is running engages the ratchet-Wheel 23 by means of the pawl 21, asseen in Fig. 1, which is correctly shown for the unrolling of the warpwhile weaving. The spring 44 permits the engagement of pawl 21 and wheel23 without disturbing stop-motion slide 4, while spring 22 yields enoughto allow the rear end of. pawl 21 to pass notches 24 without engagingthem. By revolving wheel 23 gears 26 27 are made to revolve shaft 28,moving worm 34, its wheel 35, shaft 36, and pinion 38, which revolvesgear 39 and beam 42. Whenever the filling breaks, the stop-motion shoe 4moves forward, aetuates the belt-shifter, and stops the loom. Theforward movement ot' shoe 4 operates cord 43, which overcomes spring 22and engages the pawl 2l and wheel 23 at its back or reverse end. Thebroken pick must now be searched, and heretofore it has been necessaryfor the weaver to obtain assistance to back olf the warp; but with mymechanism the weaver by operating the lay, and thereby the sword 2 andthe mechanism which I have attached thereto and which I have alreadydescribed, will now work the beam reversely, rewind the warp, move theweave back, and permit the search for the imperfect pick, and whiledoing so maintain perfect tension of the warp, so that when the rightpick is found the loom is immediately ready to weave, and when the poweris again applied shoe 4 resumes its normal position and pawl 21 is setfor unwinding the warp.

While I have/especially designed my mechanism for plush or double-pilefabrics, it is at the same time adapted to be readily attached, to greatadvantage, to any loom, with possible minor changes.

The governor mechanism which I have shown and described is connected tothe feeler 50, over which the warp rims and over which the warp is putin proper tension to suit the weave and connected to the feeler by asystem of compound-lever movements which are very sensitive to anyvariations of pressure on the feeler by the warp. The above-describedpart of the governor is connected to the rod 10, operated by the sword2, so that if the tension becomes greater than the weight is set tobalance the arm 58 will be raised. This will pull up rod 59 and raisepin l5 of rod l0 in slot 16, shortening the leverage of ratchet-lever17, and will lower pin 11 in slot 8 of lever 6, lengthening the leverageand thereby increasing the movement of ratchet-wheel 23 and all of themechanism thereto connected and moving the beam 42, and by revolving thebeam faster will let off more warps, and thus equalize the tension. Incase the tension is less than the governor is adjusted for, the arm 58will be depressed, carrying down rod 59, and a reversal of Inovementsfrom that just described will result and beam 42 will be retarded.

The compounding of levers in my governor system makes a mechanismextremely sensitive to any variations from its normal position and thetension the governor is intended for when adjusted to the work th e loomis to do.

IOO

l. In a loom, the combination with its laysword, its warp-beam andstop-motion, of a ratchet-wheel, a ratchet-lever and a double pawl, anda connection therefrom to the stopmotion, a pendulum-lever and means forits movement by the sword, having changeable attachment thereto, andmeans connected to the stop-motion whereby a reverse shifting movementis effected when the filling breaks, and means from the ratchet-Wheel torevolve the beam in either direction, in manner and form substantiallyas set forth'.

2. In a loom, the combination with its lay, its stop-motion, and itswarp-beam, of a ratchetwheel, a shaft therefor, a ratchet-lever fulcrumed upon the shaft, a double pawl upon the lever and having reversingmeans therefor,- connected with the stop-motion, a pendulum-lever movedby the laysword, a suspen sion-fulcrum, a rod carried thereby whichconnects the pendulum-lever and the ratchetlever, means to move the rodfrom the laysword, means to connect the rod for a reverseshiftingvertical movement at each end, and means from the ratchet-wheel torevolve the beam in either direction, in man ner and form substantiallyas set forth.

3. In a loom, the combination with its lay, its lay-sword, its warp-beamand stop-motion, of a ratchet-wheel, a ratchet-lever and a double-actingpawl adapted to move the ratchetwheel in reverse directions by mechanismconnected to the lay-sword, means connected to the ratchet wheel to movethe beam, 'and means connecting the loom stop-motion and the pawlwhereby the beam-moving mechanism is reversed when the loom-power is cutoff by the breaking of the weft, substantially as l and for the purposesspecified.

4. In a loom, a lay, a lay-sword and a connected pendulous lever, awarp-beam, a stopmotion a ratchet-wheel having a lever and adouble-acting pawl having operative connection with said stop-motion, apivotally-suspended rod having pin-and-slot connections with thependulum-lever and the ratchetlever, a pendulous fulcrum for thepivotallysuspended rod and attached about midway thereof, means to movethe beam from the ratchet-wheel, a feeler over which thewarp is drawn, agovernor connected to the feeler and attached to the pivotally-suspendedrod, and operated by the pressure of the warp to move the rod aforesaidin manner to acceler-

